Flaming pears, pear soup … start with a can opener - recipes

Sunset, Feb, 1988

Flaming pears, pear soup . . . start with a can opener

When cooking with pears, poaching the fruit is often the first step. But if you start with canned pears, you save not only a step, but time, too, as these three recipes illustrate.

The first is a luxurious thick, smooth soup of pureed pears and parsnips; the balance of sweet with earthiness proves winning.

Pears make gelato to enjoy by itself, or as a more dramatic finale served with warm slices of the same fruit and doused with flaming anise-flavor Pernod.

Pear and Parsnip Soup with Toast

1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter or margarine

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium-size (about 1 1/4 lb. total) parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks

4 1/2 cups regular-strength chicken broth

About 1/2 teaspoon each ground allspice and white pepper

2 cans (1 lb. each) pear halves in juice or light syrup, drained (reserve liquid for other uses)

Herb-spice toast (recipe follows)

1/2 cup whipping cream, optional

Melt butter in a 4- to 5-quart pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and stir occasionally until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add parsnips, broth, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, and pepper; cover and bring to a boil on high heat; reduce heat and boil gently until parsnips are tender when pierced, 15 to 20 minutes.

In a blender, whirl soup and pears a portion at a time. (If made ahead, cover and chill up to 2 days.) Return to pan and stir over medium heat until hot. Accompany with toast. Stir cream into individual portions and dust lightly with allspice. Serves 8.

Herb-spice toast. Mix 3 tablespoons butter or margarine with 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme leaves, 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice, and 1/4 teaspoon sugar.

Trim crusts from 6 slices sourdough bread (each about 4 by 5 in., 1/2 in. thick); cut each slice into 3 triangles. Place in a 10- by 15-inch baking pan and broil 4 inches from heat until toasted. Turn over, spread with butter mixture, and broil until toasted. Serve hot. Makes 18.

Pear and Pernod Gelato

3 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

3 thinly pared strips lemon peel (each 1 1/2 in.), yellow part only

6 large egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon anise extract

1/4 cup anise-flavor liquor (such as Pernod)

2 cans (1 lb. each) pear halves in juice or light syrup, drained (reserve liquid)

In a 3- to 4-quart pan, combine milk, sugar, and lemon peel. Stir over medium heat until milk is scalding. In a bowl, whisk 1 cup milk into yolks, then whisk egg mixture into pan. Stir over medium-low heat until custard coats back of a metal spoon in a smooth, thin layer, 10 to 12 minutes; discard peel. Stir in anise extract and liquor; cool, cover, chill.

In a blender or food processor, whirl pears with 1/3 cup of reserved liquid until smoothly pureed. Stir into chilled custard.

Pour mixture into container of an ice cream maker (self-refrigerated, or use 1 part salt to 8 parts ice) and freeze as manufacturer directs. When dasher will no longer rotate, remove lid and dasher, cover gelato with plastic wrap, top with lid, and freeze until firm, 6 hours to 3 weeks. Makes 1 1/2 quarts, 6 to 8 servings.

Warm Buttered Pears with Gelato

Drain 1 can (1 lb.) pear halves in juice or light syrup (reserve liquid for other uses) and cut lengthwise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine in an 8- to 10-inch frying pan over medium-high heat until it begins to brown. Add fruit; turn gently until hot.

Divide pears among 4 dessert plates. Scoop frozen pear and Pernod gelato (recipe precedes) to make 12 balls (each about 1/4 cup); put 3 of the balls on each dessert plate.

Heat 1/2 cup anise-flavor liquor (such as Pernod) in a 1 1/2- to 2-cup pan over medium-high heat. At the table, ignite liquor in pan and ladle it, flaming, with a long-handled spoon onto each dessert. Makes 4 servings.

Photo: Spoon flaming anise liquor over warm pear slices and frozen pear gelato-- it's laced with the same spirit

Photo: Smooth, mellow pear and parsnip soup with buttery herb toast makes an elegant starter